Did somebody say GOAT RACES?

If you're racing dogs they use that stupid mechanical rabbit, obviously better than a real rabbit.

So what do they use for goat races? A tin can on a string dragged around in front of them? Actually with the way goats eat I'm guessing you could put just about anything on a string, even just a string, and they'd go after it...if they were in the mood.

Click on image to see it larger.

This image is badly glued into an old album.

A HAPPY DOG...

is a singing dog.

TAKE THE BACKROADS next time

Those of us who do not live in cities or suburbs see roadside stands on a regular basis and probably are just as thrilled with them as city folk. I do most of my shopping at what was once just a roadside stand which has now morphed into a far more complex stand. Open on the front, it's always interesting to shop in on a rainy day. The clerks all wear fingerless gloves to work the registers.

I have no idea where these shots were taken or when. A long ago stop at an apple stand.

Click on any image to see it larger.

This is my submission, just barely under the wire, for Sepia Saturday.

A PET GOAT will eat you out of house and home

A pet goat or not. Perhaps just a day sitting in a hay pile with some barn animals.

Click on image to see it larger.

My neighbor has some goats. I love going over to see them. They always come up to the fence and stand on their hind legs to get right in my face, eye to eye. I tell them they're very good goats, but they seem to already know that.

I do have more goat photos to come, though not nearly as many as I have of dogs.

And so WE GATHER...

all around the table.

Doin' DOG STUFF

I love watching happy dogs doing dog stuff. Dog stuff is pretty much anything a dog would do without human direction. Though this girl is with the dog, in the dogs mind it's a whole other world.

Gotta love dogs doin' dog stuff!

The FOUR LEGGED MEMBERS of the household

People love their pets and I’m no exception. In my life I’ve lived with 6 dogs, 4 cats, and 8 parakeets. I also now have two feral peacocks who come to visit and be fed. I love to sit down next to them as they eat. And when Pete, the male, spreads his tail and walks towards me, then turns brushing my face with the feathers I’m thrilled with the moment. I cherish the interaction.

I’m going to be featuring some pet photos from my collection. Dogs and cats and rabbits and goats, oh my.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 8

How fortuitous that this weeks Sepia Saturday is about cars? I've been featuring men and their cars in seven previous posts which can be seen at the links below:

Part 1 a proud fella with his shiny car

Part 2 a car salesman in my imagination

Part 3 Bill and Dick's adventure in Chicago

Part 4 somewhere near San Bernardino

Part 5 young men and old jalopies

Part 6 a car along the Potomac River in Washington D.C.

Part 7 a "Spanish River Pulp" truck in Canada

The actual Sepia Saturday post is an old advertisement for Chevrolet which got me thinking about how much ads have changed over the decades.

The basic car ad has always been about freedom; the freedom you get once you own a car. Then there's the romance of a car and how stylish it makes you look and feel. These days it's also about power; not just the power of the engine, but the power you'll have over others because of the choice you've made. Sometimes we really are so stupid to fall for all of it.

The car itself has become a sex object photographed to look almost unattainable. Glistening chrome and paint shines like lipstick on a pouty mouth. Car ads have changed, but for most people a purchase is still for practical reasons. You need a car to get from point A to point B. Some people want function, others want glamour.

A car and an open road, at least in the mind of a Californian, is almost a birthright. Ultimately we're now paying a dear price for this frame of mind, but I don't want to give up my shiny red car. It's an extension of me. When I get behind the wheel it feels like an extension of my own body. I'm thinking all those years of watching tv commercials has me right where the industry wants me...that and the fact that most of my county is two lane twisty roads that are a joy to drive.

This photo of a gentleman out for a ride along a dirt road somewhere amongst the redwoods in Northern California is a classic. A drive out of necessity or pleasure? It's just a moment captured in motoring history.

And for more motoring madness check out the Studebakers at my other site, Tattered and Lost Ephemera.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 7

This shot comes from an old album I purchased many years ago at an estate sale. The album features the life of a woman who was born in Canada and died in Northern California after a full and rich life.

Click on image to see it larger.

This vintage snapshot, from what I can discern, was taken in Canada. On the side of the truck bed the signage says "Spanish River Pulp" which was the name of a paper company in the town of Espanola in Ontario, Canada.

The Town of Espanola originated as a company-owned town. In 1899 the Ontario government signed the Espanola Agreement with the Spanish River Pulp and Paper Company, which gave the company the authority to begin logging operations over a 5,600 km area for the next 21 years. Under the agreement, a pulp mill capable of employing 250 people was to be constructed. A company-owned town site was established which stretched from the Spanish River to where Second Street is today. (SOURCE: Corporation of the town of Espanola)

To read more about Espanola click here.

It was nice to have this bit of signage because it put the photo in some sort of context. We now know that this man most likely was a driver for the company. Other than that, he'll forever be a mystery.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 6

This is Mr. Roberts in Washington D. C. next to the Arlington Memorial Bridge which crosses the Potomac River. To the right of the bridge is the Lincoln Memorial.

Click on image to see it larger.

This photo was taken in 1941 when Mr. Roberts and his wife, Lolly, visited D.C. As you can see the film was processed at a Peoples Drug Store.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 5

Another shot from the estate sale of Mr. Roberts belongings. The young man leaning on the back of the car which looks like a race car is Mr. Roberts years before he was in the Coast Guard and off on his adventures in Alaska.

This shot, like the one from yesterday's post, was also most likely taken near San Bernardino. The fellas were out and about and taking shots of themselves with their cars. What an adventure it must have been in those days before paved roads, interstates with repair garages and gas stations, and of course, no cell phones thus no way to easily call the auto club. Mind you, the Automobile Club of Southern California had been in existence since 1900. Phonebooths...harder to find.

I think the old jalopies are grand!

Click on image to see it larger.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 4

Other than remembering where I purchased this snapshot (the Mr. Roberts estate sale) I have no idea what's going on. I purchased a series of shots of men and young men in cars/jalopies driving on dirt roads. This one with the sign is the most telling of location. Perhaps there's someone out there who knows something about the sign and road. I'm guessing this was the "highway" of its time located in Southern California. The photo was most likely taken in the late 1920s to early '30s. As to what the tower is in the background, I haven't a clue.

Click on image to see it larger.

The copy on the sign:

History of the United States

San Bernardino 2 Miles

Six miles northeast of San Bernardino in the Arrowhead with its hot springs, one of which has a temperature of nearly two hundred degrees and a daily flow from the rock of half a million gallons.

UPDATE from reader Daniel Nauman. Thanks Daniel!

I believe that's a mid 1920s Hudson---at least all Hudsons had a triangluar emblem on the radiator. I'd date the photo circa 1930, because the tire on the billboard (a US Tire) is starting to 'balloon' into the tires we're familar with, which became standard circa 1934. A side note would be that US tires were made at the old Samsome factory south of LA---they one with the hyroglipchics(sp), now an outlet mall. I suspect this is taken near the shoulder of US 99, which ran through Colton at the time, about that many miles south of San Berdoo (US 66 actually went into Berdoo). The Sierra Madres are probably hidden behind the billboard. The tower looks like to be a rock crusher to me---the area is all river washes, and it may have been used to grade gravel for a paving project.

The UNKNOWN VETERANS

From what I can determine, Camp Pike was located in Arkansas. You can see photos of the camp here, here, and here.

To see more photos like the one above with the flag go here, here, here, here, and here. (SOURCE: 3rd Division Photos)

We're just a few years away from the anniversary of the start of World War I. Doesn't seem that we've progressed very much since then towards resolving conflicts peacefully. One current presidential candidate has even said that should he be elected we can expect to go to war with another country. Odd how politicians are always so cavalier about war. They love to get their photos taken in front of flags. So both patriots and cowards like to use the flag for their own purpose. It's up to us to determine which sort of person they are.

This is my contribution for the Sepia Saturday post for its 100th anniversary.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 3

This vintage snapshot is from Bill and Dick's Excellent Adventure. Bill is on the left...or Dick...I'm not sure. I do know, because of the May 25th diary entry, the fellow driving is Mr. Nelson the "Chief of Factory Inspection for State of Illinois."

Click on either image to see it larger.

As to the model of car, haven't a clue.

I've featured photos and diary entries from Bill and Dick's adventure before, including here, and I'm sure they'll be featured in the future.

MEN and THEIR CARS: Part 2

"So, tell me...what will it take to get you into this little baby today?"

MEN and THEIR CARS

Men are much more fascinated with cars than women. I believe this is a fact. This isn't to say there aren't women in love with cars and how they work, it's just that generally I believe women look at the styling while men look at the engine. Each valid points of view.

I personally love the look of some cars, mainly old cars. Newer cars all tend to look the same. And if the cars are made in Japan or Korea even the car logos begin to look the same. A silver circle with some icon inside it. Very unimaginative. Take a look at the Honda logo and the Hyundai logo. Seriously. In one the "H" is roman, in the other it's italic.

Recently I saw the Tucker car that was used in the movie. A stunner. Its paint and chrome gleamed. And all I kept thinking when looking in the interior was that "the Dude" sat in it. As close as I'll ever get to Jeff Bridges.

I have no idea what car this is in the photo. I'm betting sooner or later some guy will step forward to tell me. Then again, it might be a very astute woman who will recognize it. For me, it's just a car, a shape, a beautifully shiny shape.

Click on image to see it larger.

NEW MIRACLE CREAM helps you deny your age!

Oh sure, there are lots of ads online for creams claiming they'll fade age spots, wrinkles, turkey necks. They show examples which are always suspect. None have an example like this!

Imagine, this little lad was 64 years old in February of 1925! This kid found the fountain of youth...

or someone didn't complete the caption.

AUTUMN of their lives

It's EVENING

There are at least two ways to interpret this photo:

Evening would always wear his best bow tie and shirt when he sat down to work. His wife, Dawn, loved to take photos of him working. He played the horses and was very diligent in checking the racing forms each day.

or:

There are 5 photos in this series of a man sitting on a couch. Missing are dawn, morning, midday, and night. I'm guessing he didn't move in any of them.

Is that A WOMAN RIDING A TURTLE?

Oh sure, you can easily find photos of women riding horses; that's a category I've covered in the past. But thanks to my best friend, I now have a new category...women riding "What the heck?"

My friend sent me this shot and reminded me of my shot of the woman riding the ostrich. She's right. This is a new and exciting category yet to be investigated.

So just to keep this straight I now have a woman riding an ostrich and another riding a large turtle.

Subcategory? OF COURSE! Woman riding turtle on back of truck. It just gets better and better.

ALWAYS TITLE your vacation photos

I've been away on vacation for the past several weeks. Now that I'm home I must organize the photos I took, put labels on them so I can later remember where I've been. Sometimes you take a photo and years later you look at it and think, "Where the heck was that?"

I give you Example A:

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New book available on Amazon in a few days.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!